Congress gaiter.



No. 648,958, I w. u. HORNE. Pmmd I900.

ONGRESS-ENTER.

(Application filed Aug. 11, 1899.)

(No Model.)

HI w

TH: uomus PETERS c0, vuofoumoq wAsumm'om o. d.

NITED STATES ATENT Prion.

\VILLIAM N. HORNE, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

CONGRESS GAITER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,958, dated May 8, 1900.

Application filed August 11, 1899. Serial No. 726,891. (No model- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM N. HORNE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, county of Davidson, and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Congress Gaiters, of which the following is a specification.

The object-s of my invention are to provide an improved gore which by its shape and location renders the pressure on the front of the instep perfectly uniform from the top of the shoe to the vamp and causes the stretch of the gore to be in line with the rubber strands therein; to provide a gore which requires less material for the front section of the topping and obviates the excessive crimping usually necessary, so that, in fact, the said front section of topping may be cut to fit, and thereby hold its shape; to provide a gore which will hold that portion of the shoe over the shank in the same position as when lasted, thereby making a perfect fit in the most difficult part of a shoe to fit, and to provide a gore with which a single-piece backstay may be used, and thereby avoid the use of a seam which is liable to rip and which strains the leaders at the back of the ankle;

- also, to-provide a gore which allows that portion of the topping between the two depending gore-sections to be formed in one piece With the vamp and which at its upper portion extends from the front section of the topping to the backstay, so as to allow sufficient elasticity for the insertion of the foot and removal of the shoe. plish by the construction shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective of a Congress gaiter with my improvements applied. Fig. 2 is a section on linear m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line y y, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 shows the elastic gore or web removed.

A designates the vamp, B the front toppingsection, and O the one-piece backstay. The front topping-section B is quite narrow, fol- These objects I accom-- spect to the edges of the backstay O.

E E represent the gores of elastic webbing and formed with the wide upper portions e e, which close the spaces between the section B and backstay 0 above the side sectionsD D,

to all of which parts they are stitched, and

from the upper portions 6 e depend the narrow diverging portions 6 e which close the spaces between the adjacent side edges of the side sections D D, front topping-section B, and backstay C, respectively. The wide top portion 6 allows of the ready insertion of the foot into the shoe and its removal therefrom, while the forward curved members 6 follow parallel with the line of the instep at each side of the front section B, making the pressure on the front of the instep perfectly uniform from the top of the shoe down to its intersection with the vamp. The back sections 6 e afford'similar even pressure upon the backstay. The side sections D D of the topping relieve the knuckles or ankle-joint of the objections common to entire elastic filling-pieces or gores. The stretch of the elastic gore e e e is in a direct line with the rubber strands, making the pressure on the instep elastic and comfortable. Moreover, the location of gore-sections e on each ,side of the front of the instep affords another very decided advantage, in that less leather is required from which to cut the narrow front section B and allows of this section B being cut to fit without the usual crimping or creasing operation, which crimping soon causes the shoe to lose its shape. The fit of the shoe in the shank is also greatly improved, as there is no bagging in the vamp at the shank of the sole. The two sections e e of the gore, being both in front and rear of and not directly over the thin part of the shank, hold the shoe in the same position as when lasted, and so make a perfect fit in the most difficult part.

By reason of the relief given the back goresections 6 by the front sections 8 and upper continuous connecting section 6 said back sections may be attached on each side of the shoe to a backstay made of a single piece and out to fit without crimping or creasing.

Such a single-piece baekstay obviates the necessity of the usual seam, which bears immediately on the leaders at the rear of the ankle-joint at every movement of the foot. Moreover, a single-piece backstay is preferable, since there is no seam to rip and it is less liable to break, because it bends with the grain of the leather flatwise instead of edgewise, as in the case of a seam.

By my gore the side sections D D may be cut integral with the vamp A, discarding the seam between the two extreme points of the same continuous piece of gore.

What I claim is 1. A gaiter provided with a narrow toppingsection, B, extending downwardly, forwardly and centrally over the instep from the top of the shoe to the vamp, a narrow backstay, side sections, D D, extending up from the vamp to a point below the top of the shoe; the forward edges of the side sections, D, being curved approximately parallel with the side edges of the front topping-section and extending at theirlower ends beyond the shank of the shoe, and the rear edges of the side sections being back of the said shank and parallel with the edges of the backstay, and the elastic gores having wide top pieces, (2, closing the spaces above the side sections and provided with narrow depending front and rear sections, e 6 closing the spaces between the edges of the side sections, D D, and the front topping-section and baekstay, respectively, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A shoe formed with gore-openings at its opposite sides having wide upper portions and narrow front and rear downwardly-extending portions; the front portions or branches of the gore-openings extending downwardly and forwardly at opposite sides of the instep to the vamp and beyond the shank of the shoe, and the rear members of the gore-openings extending down to the vamp over the heel, whereby the side sections, D D, are formed of less height than the sections or parts, B O, and of greater width at their lower portions than the shank, and gores of elastic material having wide upper portions filling the wide upper portions of the openings and narrow depending sections, 6 e filling the narrow front and rear portions of said gore-openings, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM N. HORNE.

WVitnesses:

J. G. Fisnnn, W. F. ARNOLD. 

